And most did not like it.

The North Harmony Town Board adopted an amended resolution in support of herbicide application for the management of eurasian watermilfoil in designated areas within the town.

Close to 55 people attended the Monday meeting to show board members their support of applying herbicides in Chautauqua Lake.

Town residents did not want the board to miss an opportunity to treat the lake. Because of a tight deadline, the board did not approve the 2026 herbicide application for curly leaf pondweed, Supervisor Robert Yates said.

Alison Churchill addresses the North Harmony Town Board Monday. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Town resident Alison Churchill expressed her concerns of how important it was for the board to apply the herbicide.

“We do not want to miss the opportunity to treat for eurasian watermilfoil. It’s almost universally viewed as harmful to lake ecosystems and recreational activities, and most lakes attempt to actively manage or eradicate it. We’re aware that there are many factors that impact the health of the lake,” Churchill said.

Churchill added that the Quigley Park area shoreline in 2025 was choked with weeds making it impossible for boats to navigate, unsafe for fishing, and for people or pets to swim because of the algae.

“Neighbors were unable to use their jet skis, paddled boards, canoes or boats, for fear of burning out their propellers, which were clogged with weeds or being exposed to blue-green algae toxins. Additionally, as these weeds decayed, the stench was overwhelming,” Churchill said.

Churchill added that Chautauqua County residents benefit from the lake.

“It (the lake) is a huge contributor to tourism, which is the mainstay of income for this county. Those that don’t live on the lake benefit greatly from all it has and can offer. If it’s clean and healthy, individuals and businesses in the county enjoy the trickle down effect of Lake activity and tourism,” Churchill said.

Town resident Chuck Hutchison also aired his comments about the herbicide application.

“I would like to see some of my tax dollars go towards maintenance, maintaining and rectifying lake problems,” Hutchison said. “I’ve been to this board several times expressing interest in why we aren’t treating the weeds like every other community around the lake, and it’s a ‘don’t have the money’ or ‘we missed this cut off.’ We go through this every year.”

He added that, in his opinion, the board is part of the problem because it is not resolving any issues regarding the lake.

Yates said to the attendees that he understands the concerns about the lake.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation tonight, and I would hope that in the future, the next coming years, however this board turns out, whoever sits here at this table as a supervisor, will keep an open mind and try to make things better for everybody, make the lake more usable,” Yates added.

He said in order to move forward with the resolution, concessions must be made.

“So in order to get this moving forward, we will have to make concessions between the CLA (Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance), the CLP (Chautauqua Lake Partnership), the county, the state, every municipality and every person that votes. No one’s going to get everything they want. We never do in life. Life is a compromise. Life is conversation, communication, and that’s what we’re going to try to do, and that’s why we’re here tonight,” Yates noted.

When the public comment session closed, the board began discussing the amendment to resolution. For about one half hour, board members discussed modifications to the resolution presented before the board.

The board’s amendment to the resolution called for the exclusion of the Quigley Park area and the Longview area to be treated.

The board approved the amended resolution, and after the vote, a majority of the people got up from their seats and promptly left the room.

And Yates had a parting comment for them.

“When everybody gets upset and disgusted, there will be room on the board,” Yates said.

Some people responded that they were not town residents and said they could not run for election.

Despite the brief exodus, the board began again conducting town business.